Developmental models for children's temperament: alternatives to chronometric polynomial curves

Partridge and Lerner (2007), in a secondary analysis of the New York Longitudinal Study, employed a chronometric polynomial growth curve model to argue that the developmental course of difficult temperament follows a non‐linear trajectory over the first 5 years of life. The free curve slope intercept (FCSI) growth curve model of Meredith and Tisak (1990) is presented as a preferable conceptual alternative because it contains a number of currently popular statistical models, including repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance, factor mean, linear growth, linear factor analysis, and hierarchical linear models as special cases. As such, researchers can compare the fit of each of these models relative to the FCSI model, and, at times, to each other. The present paper conducts a re‐analysis of the data, and establishes that fit of the FCSI model is arguably better than other statistical alternatives. The FCSI model is also used as the basis for identifying subgroups of individuals with their qualitatively distinct growth patterns within a growth mixture modeling framework. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Does frequency trajectory influence word identification? A cross-task comparison

In a series of six experiments, the influence of frequency trajectory in visual word recognition was investigated. In Experiment 1, frequency trajectory was found to exert a strong and reliable influence on age of acquisition (AoA) ratings. In word reading (Experiment 2), lexical decision (Experiments 3 and 6), proper name decision (Experiment 4), progressive demasking (Experiment 5), and a multiple regression analysis of lexical decision times taken from the French Lexicon Project, the effect of frequency trajectory was not reliable. In contrast, in all the experiments and in the multiple regression analysis, cumulative frequency had a strong and reliable influence on word recognition times. The findings firmly establish that in alphabetic languages such as French, age-limited learning effects do not surface readily in word recognition. In contrast, the total exposure to words across the lifetime is a strong determinant of word recognition speed. The implications of the findings are discussed.     

A Cross-Domain Growth Analysis: Externalizing and Internalizing Behaviors During 8 Years of Childhood

In a sample of 405 children assessed in kindergarten through the seventh grade, we determined the basic developmental trajectories of mother-reported and teacher-reported externalizing and internalizing behaviors using cross-domain latent growth modeling techniques. We also investigated the effects of race, socioeconomic level, gender, and sociometric peer-rejection status in kindergarten on these trajectories. The results indicated that, on average, the development of these behaviors was different depending upon the source of the data. We found evidence of the codevelopment of externalizing and internalizing behaviors within and across reporters. In addition, we found that African-American children had lower levels of externalizing behavior in kindergarten as reported by mothers than did European-American children but they had greater increases in these behaviors when reported by teachers. Children from homes with lower SES levels had higher initial levels of externalizing behaviors and teacher-reported internalizing behaviors. Males showed greater increases in teacher-reported externalizing behavior over time than did the females. Rejected children had trajectories of mother-reported externalizing and internalizing behavior that began at higher levels and either remained stable or increased more rapidly than did the trajectories for non-rejected children which decreased over time.     

Describing the Acquisition of Determiners in English: A Growth Modeling Approach

This paper, based on naturalistic data, describes the acquisitional course and use of the articles a and the in young English-speaking children (18-61 months), with special emphasis on the role of individual variation. A growth modeling approach to the data reveals that children's individual acquisition schedules are similar in trend, but vary in the rate at which they omit determiners at a given point of time. This picture suggests that an analysis that presumes homogeneous development will seriously misrepresent the fluctuations between and within individuals. Interestingly, this variation does not reflect a variation in children's abilities to use determiners correctly-irrespective of the rate in which they used determiners, children seldom used determiners incorrectly. The analysis also reveals that children's optional omission of determiners in obligatory contexts, beginning at 18 months of age, gradually decreases on average by 3-4% a month until 36 months of age, and thereafter plunges by a factor of 10 to an average of 0.3% per month. At 36 month of age the majority of children use determiners at a near-mastery level (Brown, 1973). These findings provide a useful framework for theorizing about possible mechanisms underlying the nature of early language development pre- and post-36 months of age.     

Turning Fantasies About Positive and Negative Futures into Self-Improvement Goals

Contrasting fantasies about the future with reflections on reality that impedes fantasy realization creates a tight link between expectations of success and forming commitments to self-improvement goals. This effect applies to both fantasies about a positive future contrasted with impeding negative reality as well as fantasies about a negative future contrasted with impeding positive reality. In Study 1, with 63 student participants, contrasting positive fantasies about benefiting from a vocational training with negative reflections on reality impeding such benefits led to expectancy-dependent willingness to invest in the training, more so than indulging in the positive future and than dwelling on the negative reality. In Study 2, with 158 high school students from former East Berlin, contrasting negative, xenophobic fantasies about suffering from the influx of immigrants with positive reflections on reality impeding such suffering led to expectancy-dependent tolerance and willingness to integrate the immigrants. Findings are discussed in terms of how mental contrasting facilitates self-improvement and personal development by making people form expectancy-dependent goal commitments to approach positively-perceived as well as negatively-perceived futures.     

Principles for Designing Randomized Preventive Trials in Mental Health: An Emerging Developmental Epidemiology Paradigm

An emerging population-based paradigm is now being used to guide the design of preventive trials used to test developmental models. We discuss elements of the designs of several ongoing randomized preventive trials involving reduction of risk for children of divorce, for children who exhibit behavioral or learning problems, and for children whose parents are being treated for depression. To test developmental models using this paradigm, we introduce three classes of design issues: design for prerandomization, design for intervention, and design for postintervention. For each of these areas, we present quantitative results from power calculations. Both scientific and cost implications of these power calculations are discussed in terms of variation among subjects on preintervention measures, unit of intervention, assignment, balancing, number of pretest and posttest measures, and the examination of moderation effects.     

三维虚拟空间中转头选中远离和靠近运动目标的操作特性差异

通过转头选中运动目标是虚拟现实(VR)中的常见操作,然而运动目标包含远离和靠近运动,确定两类操作的时间特性差异对设计高效的用户接口有重要的意义。本研究选取17名被试在VR中通过转头将球体光标快速准确地放入水平运动的球体目标内,并改变初始距离、目标容差和目标速度。总时间结果显示,远离运动的操作难度更大,初始距离和目标容差对远离和靠近运动的影响相似,目标速度对两类运动的影响相反。进一步将光标的移动过程划分为加速、减速和调整阶段,结果发现,远离运动的加速和减速时间大于靠近运动,但是两类运动的调整时间接近,并且只有目标容差对两类运动的影响一致。最后构建了总时间与三因素的函数模型,成功解释了两类运动的操作时间特性。本研究证明了远离与靠近运动具有不同的操作时间特性,为两类运动的独立交互设计提供了重要参考。     

初中生数学元认知的发展轨迹：两年半追踪研究

采用问卷法对101名初中生在两年半间数学元认知的发展状况进行5次测试。利用潜类别增长模型等探讨初中生数学元认知的发展轨迹,并考察性别对数学元认知的影响。结果发现：(1)初中生数学元认知及各成分在初二表现出下降趋势。(2)初中生数学元认知的发展表现出三种类型,即高-缓慢下降组(32.67%)、中-显著下降组(54.46%)以及低-缓慢下降组(12.87%)。(3)与女生相比,男生有着更多的数学元认知知识和更高的数学元认知初始水平,且与低-缓慢下降组相比,男生比女生更有可能属于高-缓慢下降组。     

学前儿童“朴素生物学理论”发展的实验研究──对“生长”现象的认知发展

从学前儿童对生物生长现象的认知入手探查了学前儿童朴素生物学理论的发展,探查了发展中的个别差异和个体内部差异。研究发现：（１）学前儿童在生长维度上逐渐形成了朴素生物学理论;（２）不同教育条件下的儿童对生长的认知存在差异;学前早期儿童的认知成绩更多地受实验任务变式的影响,而学前晚期儿童的个体内部差异则较小。